Morikawa Jouji/30th Anniversary
As part of the 30th Anniversary release of Hajime no Ippo, Morikawa Jouji was involved with a lot projects related to it. Art Exhibit For more details visit it website: Hajime no Ippo Artwork From November 16th to December 1st, an original art exhibition is set to be held to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Hajime no Ippo serialization in Seibu Shibuya Branch Movida Building 6F in the Special Venue. This is an Ohara art exhibition in which raw manuscripts of "Hajime no Ippo" and color original pictures meet in one place. Morikawaa planned to do a few autograph signings at the event and a live drawing of the poster for the Stage Play. Books Best of Bout * For more information on Best of Bout Books! see: Best of Bout Books Best Bout of Hajime no Ippo! is a series of re-releases of a certain number of chapters that contain the best bouts in Hajime no Ippo. The Best Bout series began in 2019, with two books released every month. Each book has a short summary on events that happened prior to the match. The books have slightly bigger dimensions. The first 20 books released were based on the fan voted favorites for it Volume 100 release. Best Memorial * For more information on Best Memorial see: Hajime no Ippo Best Memorial Released on September 18, 2019 by Morikawa and the WSM Editorial Department. It covers 30 years of the story focusing on "Birth", "Rival", "Match", "Deathblow", "Champion", "Master and Bother", "Family", "Companion" and "Retirement".. It has an author interview with Morikawa, and behind the scenes information. Bunkōbon They released 15 volumes of Bunkōbon that covers the first 30 volumes of the story. Each book came out every two weeks. Featherweight Boxing Tournament * For more information on Featherweight Tournament see: Hajime no Ippo Featherweight Tournament As part of the 30th Anniversary, Morikawa sponsored a Featherweight Tournament with DANGAN boxing where the winner received a 1 million yen purse. It is used help promote boxing to a younger audience and celebrate Hajime no Ippo reaching 30 years. The preliminary round of the tournament is set to take place on November 19, 2019 in Kōrakuen Hall. The semi-final round takes place on February 27, 2020 in Kōrakuen Hall, and the tournament final is set for May 2020 in Sumida Ward Gymnasium. The Tournament winner has a chance to appear in the manga story. Staged Play * For more information on Stage Play see: Hajime no Ippo: The Glorious Stage!! It was revealed in the issue 36-37 of Weekly Shonen Magazine that George Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo boxing manga is inspiring its first stage play, Hajime no Ippo: The Glorious Stage!! in January 2020. The play will cover the beginning of the manga, and the cast was announced in September. Tributes by other Mangaka In issue 42 of Weekly Shōnen Magazine, there was posted various tributes from other mangaka. *Page 1 **Ken Akamatsu (赤松 健) - UQ Holder ''- Top Left **Hiro Mashima (真島 ヒロ) - ''Edens Zero/''Fairy Tail ''- Top Right **Isayama Hajime (諫山 創) -'' Shingeki no Kyojin' ''- Middle Left **Yuji Terajima (寺嶋 裕二) - Ace of Diamond - Middle Right **Arakawa Hiromu (荒川 弘) -'' Silver Spoon/'Fullmetal Alchemist '''- Bottom Left **Kōji Seo (瀬尾公治) - Hitman ''(ヒットマン) - Bottom Right *Page 2 **Unknown - Top Left **Nakaba Suzuki (鈴木央) - ''The Seven Deadly Sins - Top Center **Ito Ōgure (漫画/大暮維人) - Bakemonogatari (化物語) - Top Right **Atsushi Ōkubo (大久保篤) - Fire Force (炎炎ノ消防隊) - Middle Left **Kei Sasuga (流石景) - Domestic Girlfriend' (ドメスティックな彼女) - Middle Center **Tsuyoshi Yasuda (安田剛士) - 'Days' - Middle Right **Ken Wakui (和久井健) - 'Tokyo Revengers '(東京卍リベンジャーズ) - Bottom Left **Yoshitoki Ōima (大今良時) - 'To Your Eternity '(不滅のあなたへ) - Bottom Center **Masakuni Igarashi (五十嵐正邦) - 'Senryu Girl' (川柳少女) - Bottom Right *Page 3 **Negi Haruba - 'Go-Toubun no Hanayome' (五等分の花嫁) - Top Left **MIYAJIMA Reiji (宮島礼吏) - 'I'd like to Borrow a Girlfriend' (彼女、お借りします) - Top Center **Kotoba Inoya (猪ノ谷言葉) - 'Smile Down the Runway '(ランウェイで笑って) - Top Right **Hideki (英貴) - 'Danshi Koukousei wo Yashinaitai Onee-san no Hanashi(男子高校生を養いたいお姉さんの話) - Middle Left **KANEDA Yousuke(金田陽介) - ''Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet (寄宿学校のジュリエット) - Middle Center **Chida Daisuke (千田大輔 ) - MAko-san wa shindemo Jiritsu shinai (マコさんは死んでも自立しない) - Middle Right **YAMAMOTO Souichirou(山本崇一朗) - '''''Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru (それでも歩は寄せてくる) - Bottom Left **Nomura Yuusuke - Blue Lock - Bottom Center **OHTAKA Shinobu (大高忍) - Orient (オリエント) - Bottom Right *Page 4 **HONDA Shingo (本田真吾) - Kyoryuu Senki (巨竜戦記) - Top Left **HORIUCHI Atsunori (原作・水墨画監) - Sen wa, Boku wo Egaku (線は、僕を描く) - Top Center **TAKAHATA Kyu (高畑弓) - Shinanaide! Asukawa-san (死なないで！明日川さん) - Top Right **WATANABE Shizumu (渡辺静 原案) - Real Account (リアルアカウント) - Middle Left **Unknown - Middle Center **Unknown - Middle Right **Kiyasu Kouhei (喜安 浩平) - VA of Ippo/Director of Stage Play - Bottom Center **Unknown - Bottom Right TV Appearances Morikawa appeared on the Episode 60 (10/28/2019) and 61 (11/3/2019) of the TV show Mando Kobayashi''https://otn.fujitv.co.jp/b_hp/912200304.html (漫道コバヤシ)https://twitter.com/mando_kobayashi/status/1184034330361790470, which is hosted by Kendo Kobayashi (ケンドーコバヤシ) on Fuji TV ONE that is aired every other month. It is a show where he met various managaka to interview and discuss manga with them. It is the first time in the program history that spans multiple episodes. The first episode cover Morikawa as a mangaka from 1983 to 1995 (which will include his early work), and Episode 61 is from 1996 to Present. Here was Morikawa in the promo for it: Mando Kobayashi for Ep. 60 and 61 Other * Dangan Boxing Promotions and Rizin (MMA) is set to use Hajime no Ippo themed tape during official matches in 2019. * In February 2019, Joshin chain store in Japan, teamed up with ''Hajime no Ippo and had coloured pages of Makunouchi Ippo and Sendō Takeshi advertising Joshin to help honour 30 years. During one of the weekly store ads, they shown JB Sports Gym members and Hajime no Ippo characters in it. * Morikawa's JB Sports Gym tends to use Hajime no Ippo related characters on their match tickets or envelopes for match tickets, back of their gym shirts, and sell Hajime no Ippo related merchandise. * In July 2019, as part of a collaboration between Weekly Shonen Magazine and Asahi Soft Drinks, various panels of WSM (including Hajime no Ippo) appeared in Tokyo Metro Shinjuku Station (Metro Promenade) and Shibuya Station (near Exit 8 on the B2 floor). * As part of the 30 year Celebration, the JR Yamanote Line in Tokyo posted various Hajime no Ippo posters on it train in late September 2019 to Oct 6th, 2019. *There is a campaign with Maruzen Junkudo Shoten stores till with Hajime no Ippo as part of the 30th from September 25th, 2019 till the end of October in select stores, where an anniversary edition was available free of charge in the store, or a purchase of any volume of Hajime no Ippo, they will receive a 1 of 5 stickers.https://shonenmagazine.com/info/entry/20190924ippo References Category:Morikawa Jouji Tab